Uh... Bettmans concern is finances. When he says the fans came back, he meant financially. If you are going to refuse to spend a penny on the NHL now, then you are not coming back financially speaking. So, no, he is not necessarily right. Even you yourself say you are not going to support the NHL any more. (support means spending money)

Does it take a degree in economics to read the tweets being sent out on what Bettman is saying?? because some of them have me lost.

Aaron Ward‏@aaronward_nhlBettman avoided describing how teams would get down to $58 M cap by saying,'if I have to describe that,then we are in good shape'Renaud P Lavoie‏@RenLavoieRDSGary Bettman: "you need to consider what's fair because we run the league at 43 % of the revenues."LOL at 43%...Bettman blowing smoke up our ass again?

Allan Walsh‏@walshaImagine if players demanded more than what's in their contracts? RT@reporterchris: Bettman says players have no "entitlement" to 57% of rev.

"There was no mention of a salary rollback, like the 24 percent the players had to cough up in the 2005 settlement, but there's still a significant haircut to be taken. They can call it escrow, but by any name it means giant piles of money are being yanked back from the players. And so, despite Bettman's claim, this proposal is not different in any meaningful way from the first.A new approach, sure, but it's not progress.

Bettman can suggest that revenue sharing "will not make or break" these negotiations, as he did in a post meeting press briefing yesterday. But since that's the main plank in the NHLPA platform, it illustrates that the two sides are not even close to speaking the same language. The players are willing to take less money, but for their sacrifice they want a new system in place, a more effective revenue sharing model among the teams. The owners want to guarantee that they retain more revenue through a significant diminishment of salaries.

Is there any reason to expect that to change before Sept. 15? Hardly. The reality is that the owners have no motivation to make "meaningful" concessions at this point.They'll continue to play their shell game, moving the ball around the table in a way that makes their offer seem more palatable to the public while the clock winds down and the pressure begins to weigh on the union."

At the end of the day Bettman, and the owners, have not changed their stance on anything other than smoking mirrors and fast moving hands. I hope there is a lock out, well kinda, because it will show that the owners aren't serious about fixing anything and screwing the players.

Uh... Bettmans concern is finances. When he says the fans came back, he meant financially. If you are going to refuse to spend a penny on the NHL now, then you are not coming back financially speaking. So, no, he is not necessarily right. Even you yourself say you are not going to support the NHL any more. (support means spending money)

Keep in mind that I typically go to 6 Wings games per year. I meant that if there is a lockout, I won't be spending a penny on the Wings for the next few years.

Is there any reason to expect that to change before Sept. 15? Hardly. The reality is that the owners have no motivation to make "meaningful" concessions at this point.They'll continue to play their shell game, moving the ball around the table in a way that makes their offer seem more palatable to the public while the clock winds down and the pressure begins to weigh on the union."

At the end of the day Bettman, and the owners, have not changed their stance on anything other than smoking mirrors and fast moving hands. I hope there is a lock out, well kinda, because it will show that the owners aren't serious about fixing anything and screwing the players.

These 2 paragraphs pretty much sums it up...

The owners really have nothing to lose; most - if not all of them have "day jobs".

Both parties have to enter the process of any collective bargaining agreement with a give-take mentality.
Owners have a take-take mentality.
I think it is the worst in the contract negotiations in professional sport in North America.

Meanwhile, I have to figure out if I need to cancel my automatic subscription to NHL Center Ice this year while these assholes figure out who's going to be the biggest millionaires. f*** the lot of them!

Meanwhile, I have to figure out if I need to cancel my automatic subscription to NHL Center Ice this year while these assholes figure out who's going to be the biggest millionaires. f*** the lot of them!

Meanwhile, I have to figure out if I need to cancel my automatic subscription to NHL Center Ice this year while these assholes figure out who's going to be the biggest millionaires. f*** the lot of them!

esteef

Class envy. You have it.

Moving on... I am more hopeful that we can avoid a lockout after seeing the supposed details of the leagues counter-proposal.

Tim Thomas - Patriot and generally awesome human being.

Romans 10:13 - For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Meanwhile, I have to figure out if I need to cancel my automatic subscription to NHL Center Ice this year while these assholes figure out who's going to be the biggest millionaires. f*** the lot of them!

esteef

I will no longer be getting NHL centre ice this year and will also apparently be saving $10 per month on the Jets channel.

Question...how will teams be able to be cap compliant if there's no salary rollback? A lot of teams are within a few million $$ of the 70.2 mil cap. Philly and Minnesota i believe to name a couple. So with that deal, the Wings would be able to spend a couple million and that's it and a number of teams will have to shed salary with no team actually able to pick them up. How does the NHL's proposal make any sense as a result?

Bettman and the owners don't give a s*** about the fans, if they did he wouldn't be presenting the Cup to the displeasure of the fans. All they care about is making money. The money comes from the fans.
If there is another strike please boycott the NHL for at least 2 months after and hit em where it hurts

Revenue have been almost doubled since 2004, which means salaries have been doubled (100% increase).
My personal salary have been increased around 15% during the same period.

Is it really too much to ask that players give up a few percent on their annual multiple million dollar contracts?

And they even get paid to have one of the greatest jobs in the world...playing your favorite sport!

If there is a lockout:
Owners: would not care, since they won't have to pay salaries.
Players: would not care, since they go play in Europe.
Fans: would be pissed off, well atleast I am!!!

On a sidenote...actually the fans are (directly or indirectly) paying the owners and players so they should be #1 priority (this is why I will blame both parties incase a lockout occurs, since neither put the fans at #1)!!!

Uncle Gary doesn't care about the fans. He force-fed the "shootout". That was his idea, you know. Get over it.

The players don't care about the fans either. Noone in this situation cares about the fans. It's kind of obvious, but everyone is running around "Ohh...Buttman doesn't care. He's terrible" "The owners are greedy, they don't care." "If only those poor players could just get what they want, we can have hockey."

It's disingenuous to think that anyone at all cares about the fans, and that only Bettman is in the way, If the players really cared, why not accept the offer? Once it goes to a lockout, they're going to get a crappier deal anyway so they can start making money again.

The worst part about this is that they are arguing over absurd amounts of money. All of us "normal" people make a fraction of the players' salaries and the money the owners get. I understand they should get paid at a premium given they are required to travel so much and the life of their career. We manage to make ends meet to live our lives AND buy tickets to go watch them play hockey.

If they have a lockout I hope they don't come up with a last second deal just so the Winter Classic can happen. I really hope if the season doesn't start and this drags out that the NHL ends up losing all the revenue they would have gotten from the game and other activities. Of course that sucks for all the fans that have purchased tickets and make travel plans.

Thanks Offsides

"If I could sum up my career in Detroit, I was a perfect goalie for the team at the perfect time. I just wanted to be a Red Wing, that's it." Chris Osgood, July 19, 2011

The worst part about this is that they are arguing over absurd amounts of money. All of us "normal" people make a fraction of the players' salaries and the money the owners get. I understand they should get paid at a premium given they are required to travel so much and the life of their career. We manage to make ends meet to live our lives AND buy tickets to go watch them play hockey.

Hockey players and owners are "normal" people that are just more successful fiscally than you (and I). Good for them, it's free market economics at work. These posts harping on the amount of money being made reek of jealousy and class envy. Let's be happy that players get payed well in the NHL; it's a big that reason that many of them are in this league... and you get to enjoy watching them.

Edited by RedWingsDad, 30 August 2012 - 10:51 AM.

Tim Thomas - Patriot and generally awesome human being.

Romans 10:13 - For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Question...how will teams be able to be cap compliant if there's no salary rollback? A lot of teams are within a few million $$ of the 70.2 mil cap. Philly and Minnesota i believe to name a couple. So with that deal, the Wings would be able to spend a couple million and that's it and a number of teams will have to shed salary with no team actually able to pick them up. How does the NHL's proposal make any sense as a result?

I would imagine they'll have a buy out process similar to what they had in 2005. Back then, teams could buy out players at 2/3rds the cost of their remaining contract, which wouldn't count towards the cap but the player couldn't resign with the same team. Back in 2005 the Wings bought out DMac, Hatcher, & Whitney if I remember correctly.